Phoenix
by Leebot
Summary: A novelization of the ending to ToA, so expect major spoilers. Luke x Tear centered.
1. Immolation

**Disclaimer: **I own neither Tales of the Abyss nor any of the characters contained within.

**Author's Note:** I plan to submit this story at first in a series of relatively short chapters. Three chapters are planned, comprising my impression of the ending to ToA, though more is a definite possibility. This story contains huge spoilers from the ending, so read at your own peril.

* * *

A pale yellow light engulfed Van's body as he at last lost his grip on life. Eventually, the light faded, along with his body. Vandesdelca, he who would seize glory, was dead. 

"Master Van… thank you!" Luke, Van's slayer, said into the void where his body had been.

_When I met him, he wouldn't even thank people for saving his life,_ Tear mused._ And now, he can even find it in his heart to forgive the man who tried to destroy the world, and he thank him for giving meaning to his life. How you've grown, Luke. I owe you my thanks for this too, Van. Goodbye… my beloved brother._

At this thought, she felt tears poised to break free from her eyes, but her soldier's instincts kicked in to hold them back. It was no time to mourn; they still had to get out of Eldrant before it collapsed.

"All right. Everybody hurry up and escape," Luke said. "I'll stay here and free Lorelei."

"Luke!" Tear exclaimed. _After all this, you have to escape and live! How could you do this to yourself?! …How could you do this to me?_

"It's my promise to Lorelei. This is what I need to do," he said, but Tear was no longer paying attention. As their other companions each said their piece to him, Tear was lost in a world of her own.

_There's no stopping him… this is it. He may not come back-No! He has to! I'll drag him back from the abyss myself if I have to, but I'm not giving him up. Not now. But what can I do?_

A sharp pain in Tear's chest came with an unwelcome reminder that however much she might wish him to come back, and however much he might wish it himself, this still might be it for Luke. This thought broke through the barriers she'd set up at Van's death, and tears started to well up in her eyes. A small part of her wanted to try to push it back, but when she saw Luke free, their other companions having said what might be their last words to him, she gave up on holding anything back and ran up to him.

"Come home!" she said between sobs. He had to.

"Tear…" he said, and met her eyes with a sad gaze. At that moment, realization finally struck her. She could see her own feelings reflected in his eyes. There was no reason for doubt, no reason for hesitation. He just needed to survive.

"You have to come home. You have to! I'll be waiting... always."

"I will. I promise. I'll come home."

Tear scrunched her eyes closed as a last effort to hold back her tears. She couldn't let what might be his last sight of her be of her crying. _Thank you, Luke._

She turned, and started to walk away, not trusting herself to be able to take any more of this without bursting into tears. But she stopped herself after a couple of steps. There was one last thing she had to say. She'd recognized the look in his eyes, but she needed to make sure he knew about her feelings as well. Her voice barely above a whisper, she managed to squeak out, "Luke… I love you."

Luke didn't say anything in reply, but it didn't matter. The look he'd given her had said enough. She turned around and met his solemn gaze. His eyes once more told her all she needed to know, even if no words were coming to his mouth. He closed his eyes and gave her the slightest of nods to confirm that he'd heard her, and that he'd do whatever it took to come back. With this, he raised the Key of Lorelei and thrust it into the ground, vanishing into the embrace of Lorelei.


	2. Ashes

**Disclaimer: **I own neither Tales of the Abyss nor any of the characters contained within.

**Author's Note:** Here's the second chapter. I'd actually planned to have a bit more included in this one, but then inspiration struck which demanded shifting some material from here to the third. I'll try to get that out as soon as I can. Also, thank you for all the reviews on the first chapter!

* * *

As the Key of Lorelei struck the ground, a column of blue light erupted from it, engulfing Luke. He hadn't known exactly what to expect when he attempted to release Lorelei, and as such wasn't prepared for the flash of light. He slammed his eyes shut in reflex and took a moment to let the afterimage fade.

Around him, he heard the sounds of Eldrant's quickening collapse. Suddenly, he felt his weight lift off somewhat from his feet – but not enough that he was in freefall. Opening his eyes and trying to peer through what remained of the afterimage, Luke determined that the piece of the ground beneath him seemed to be mostly intact and was slowly descending, with blue light cascading upwards all around him. A connection formed in his mind to the Sephiroth which used to support the Outer lands; perhaps the energy being released beneath him was giving him just enough support that he didn't die in the fall. Was it a lucky coincidence, or was Lorelei trying to protect him?

Eventually, Luke's platform came to rest against some solid base that had not yet collapsed. Luke took a moment to look around, and his eye was caught by a moving black object above him. As it got closer, he identified it as a corpse, also caught in the cascading blue light. He first assumed that it was the corpse of one of the many soldiers they'd slain on their way to Van, but he revised his assumption when it resolved enough that he could see a large mane of red hair.

_Asch_. But how did his body get over here? He'd died not too far away, but it wasn't right here. Maybe if the pieces of Eldrant had collapsed in just the right way, his body could have been knocked this way. But still, that would have been another big coincidence.

Apparently, just being visible wasn't enough, as the body ended up falling directly at Luke. He reached out his arms and grabbed it; Asch deserved more than to crumple to a heap on the ground, even in death.

In the maelstrom of light, a solid figure appeared to coalesce. It then started to spiral around Luke's platform, seeming to bask in its freedom. "So the world did not vanish. To think, the future I saw would be rewritten. You have done admirably."

Lorelei. So, Luke had been successful after all. Even if he was going to fade away himself, Lorelei was free and the world was safe. And… Tear would be safe, too.

But… would she be alright if he disappeared? And did she really say what he thought she'd said? _No, I can't fade away now. I have to return to her; I promised. And… I still have to tell her how I feel as well._

In his introspection, Luke had lost sight of Lorelei, but he still had to give it a try. If anyone could help him hold together, it was him. "Lorelei!" he shouted. "If you can, please, help me!"

No reply. It was too late then. Luke let his gaze drift downward, to the body of Asch which he was still holding. "I guess I'll be seeing you soon," he said.

Asch's body was quite a mess. Numerous gashes were visible, including one which went straight through his torso. Most likely, that was the one that finally did him in. That couldn't have been pleasant. If there was any positive to Luke's condition, it was that his death would be much less painful.

As Luke watched Asch's body, he noticed something odd occurring. The light that had surrounded them was coalescing over Asch's wounds, and seemed to be working to heal them. _I guess all these Seventh Fonons need to find something to do with their energy,_ Luke mused. _It's just a shame they can't bring his soul back, or this healing might make some difference. Also a shame they can't heal what's wrong with me…_

And then Luke felt it starting. The world seemed to be fading out around him, and he could vaguely see fonons leaving his body. As they left, he saw them start to gravitate towards the other Seventh Fonons around him, including those involved in healing Asch. "I guess this is it…" he said. "Tear… goodb-"

One Luke fone Fabre had faded, his fonons fully separated. The other's body fell to the ground, along with the Key of Lorelei which had been held by the first. The Seventh Fonons involved in healing the body finished their work and disappeared into it. Eventually, the cascade of Seventh Fonons past the body caused it to be split into its component fonons via the contamination effect, and these fonons were pulled into the Planet Storm and dissipated across the sky.


	3. Reignition

**Disclaimer: **I own neither Tales of the Abyss nor any of the characters contained within.

**Author's Note:** And it's done! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and I hope you enjoy the final piece.

* * *

"I thought you'd be here."

Tear turned around at the voice. "Thank you for coming, Guy. I'm sure Luke would appreciate that you haven't given up on him."

"You too."

"Yes," Tear said, looking back out at the Selenia field. "He promised me…"

Guy nodded silently, though he knew that Tear couldn't see him.

"Why here, Guy?" Tear asked after a minute. "Isn't there some other place that's more meaningful to you and Luke?"

"I don't think there was any place more meaningful to Luke than here," Guy responded.

"That's not what I meant," Tear said, adjusting her head so Guy couldn't see her cheeks.

"I know." Guy paused, and Tear thought that was going to be the only explanation she was getting, but he continued after a minute, "I just thought that there was only one suitable tribute to Luke, and only one suitable person to give it."

"The Grand Fonic Hymn," Tear said.

"The hymn to summon Lorelei, who has the same fonic signature as Luke."

Tear turned around, hope in her eyes. "You think it'll…"

Guy shook his head sadly. "We need the Key too, remember?"

"Oh… right," Tear said, crestfallen. Of course it couldn't be that easy.

Tear turned back to the field, and found a large rock to sit on. She gathered her memories of Luke and started to sing.

_"Toue Rei Zue Kuroa Ryuo Toue Zue__"_

_He was so spoiled when I first met him. We always seemed to be fighting. Maybe I could have been a bit more understanding; I didn't really know how young he truly was. He did look quite cute when he was sleeping, though   
_

_"Kuroa Ryuo Zue Toue Ryuo Rei Neu Ryuo Zue"_

For a while, Luke was really adamant about not fighting. It wasn't until I was injured protecting him that he resolved to fight himself. Could he really have felt something all the way back then? No, that had to have simply been his true, nice self showing through. 

_ "Va Rei Zue Toue Neu Toue Ryuo Toue Kuroa"_

I think the first time I felt something more for Luke was when he bought back my pendant. He spent so much money on it, we could barely afford it at the time. And he did it just to make me happy and to atone for his rudeness about it before. 

_"Ryuo Rei Kuroa Ryuo Zue Rei Va Zue Rei __"_

_After learning that he was a replica, Luke was lost. He had to start his life over, find new purpose for himself, and atone for his idiocy which got Akzeriuth destroyed. And atone he did. He became a new man, a great man… and Tear was by my side the whole time, never letting me falter._

In the Planet Storm far overhead, some fonons started to coalesce into the shape of a sword.

_"Va Neu Va Rei Va Neu Va Zue Rei" _

_Luke's harshest critic was always himself; even Jade couldn't compare. He was willing to give up anything to make things right… but Tear wasn't. She said she'd let me sacrifice myself if I chose to, but she'd hate me for it. In the end though, she did try to stop me, and I love her the more for it   
_

The Key of Lorelei appeared in the planet storm, and it resonated with the Grand Fonic Hymn, calling out for Lorelei.

_"Kuroa Ryuo Kuroa Neu Toue Rei Kuroa Ryuo Zue Rei Va__"_

_I had to say it once before I lost him, even if only to admit it to myself. He'd grown so much, and I'd grown to love him. …It was really too soft for me to make it out, or even be sure she'd said anything at all. But in my heart, I knew what she'd said. When she turned around, her eyes confirmed it. I didn't say it back, though. I needed to leave myself something I had to do, so I'd have to come back   
_

But Lorelei was far off. Dispersed in the Planet Storm, however, was another essence, close enough to Lorelei that it felt the tug.

_" Rei Va Neu Kuroa Toue Rei Rei __"_

_And now I'm… I am! I'm alive, but… where am I? Can't see anything, but I could hear her. Tear!_

With the thought of her name, reality snapped into place. Luke was lying down in a Selenia field. The Key or Lorelei was in his left hand, its tip embedded in the dirt, as if it had dragged him down from the sky.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, Luke stood up and brushed himself off. He vaguely noticed that his clothing seemed to be different from his usual, as if pieces of Asch's outfit were mixed in, but shrugged it off; there'd be time to figure out exactly what had happened later. Right now, he had a promise to fulfill. He pried the sword out of the ground, sheathed it across his back, and set off.

* * *

"You didn't come," Natalia said. She must have come while Tear was lost in thought singing. "I believe your presence was requested at Luke's coming of age ceremony at the Duke's manor."

"I'm not interested in some ceremony in front of Luke's grave," Tear replied. _I came here to be alone, and now everyone's here. I guess you can't escape friends._

"That's why… the both of you came here, isn't it?" Anise asked.

"He said he'd be back, so let the others sit around and tell stories at his grave," Guy said. "But I won't be joining them."

_Neither will I. It's been a year, but I'll wait a hundred before I face his grave._

"We should be heading back soon. The valley is dangerous at night." Of course Jade would be the practical one, and of course he'd underestimate the survival skills of everyone in the group but himself. Even so, she'd done what she had to do. Tear nodded her head and got up to go.

And then, footsteps. Someone was coming up behind her. Tear turned around and her heart nearly stopped.

_Luke! But… the outfit's not quite right… Asch? Why would he come here? Why would even Asch torture me like this, presenting me with Luke's visage on this one day…?_

"Why are… you here?" she managed to ask.

"This place has a nice view of Hod… also, I promised someone…"

_"I will. I promise. I'll come home.   
_

_Luke!_ Tear's façade cracked, and tears started flowing relentlessly from her eyes. She no longer cared about her image, or about her comrades coming up behind her. She lunged at Luke, hugging him fiercely and nearly knocking him over.

As Tear cried into his shoulder, she heard Luke whisper five little words into her ear which nearly caused her to faint: "I love you too, Tear."

Everything was perfect… until one nagging thought creeped its way to the front of Tear's mind, and she couldn't hold herself back. "…You idiot. What took you so long?" she said as she broke out of the hug.


	4. Flight

**Disclaimer:** I own neither Tales of the Abyss nor any of the characters in this fic.**  
**

**Author's Note: **There was some demand that I continue this and clear a few things up, so I decided to tack on an epilogue to the story. This one has a bit of a different tone that the others, but that was pretty much unavoidable. Hopefully you'll still enjoy it.

* * *

"…You idiot. What took you so long?" Tear demanded as she broke out of the hug. 

"I… uh…" Luke started to say, before a gurgling noise from below interrupted him.

Before Tear's eyes, Luke's face lost all color and his knees started to buckle. "Luke! Luke!" she called out as she supported his collapsing body.

* * *

"Don't worry, he's going to be fine," Dr. Shu informed them. After Luke's collapse, they'd rushed him onto the Albiore and to the doctor in Belkend. Tear had wanted to carry him herself, but the sheer physics of the matter forced her to cede the task of carrying Luke to Guy.

"But what's wrong with him?" Tear asked.

"As far as I can tell, it's simple malnutrition. His stomach is completely empty, and it looks like he hasn't eaten for weeks. I gave him some crackers I had on hand, but he could really use a good meal and lots of rest."

"Just leave that one to me!" Anise said. "I'll go ask at inn to get some food for him, and be right back. You all can keep him company."

Anise rushed off as the rest of the group thanked the doctor. Tear, Guy, and Natalie then headed in to see Luke, but Jade hung back.

"Dr. Shu, can I ask you something?" he said once the others had left the room.

"Go ahead."

"You remember when you examined Luke a bit over a year ago, you said that his fonons were separating?" Shu nodded, and Jade continued. "How's he doing now?"

"I didn't notice anything wrong with his fonons this time. I guess whatever was afflicting him back then has passed."

"Yes, I guess so," Jade said.

* * *

"Hey there, Luke. How are you feeling?" Natalia asked as they entered the room. She and Guy approached his bed, while Tear hung back. She'd already had her moment with him, and figured it would be nice to share. Besides, she planned to steal him away for a private conversation later, and they could talk then.

"I'll live," Luke said. "That's the important thing, I guess. Where did Anise and Jade get to?"

"Anise is grabbing you some food more substantial than crackers, and Jade wanted to talk to the doctor for a bit," Guy explained. "Knowing him, he's probably trying to figure out exactly what happened with Luke so he can have me explain it to Duke fon Fabre, King Lanvaldear, Emperor Peony, and pretty much anyone else who'll listen." Guy let out a sigh, silently wishing that Jade wouldn't figure anything out.

"Well, we actually have access to Luke, so maybe we can figure some things out on our own, and then you can get Jade to do the explaining." Natalia suggested.

"I doubt it'll work," Guy replied. "He'll just say that I was so good at explaining it the first time, I might as well explain it again."

"Well fine, I'll explain it to Jade so he won't have that excuse." Before Guy could reply, Natalia turned to Luke and prodded him, "Okay, enough delays. What do you remember happening for the last year, Luke?"

"That's right," Tear interjected. "You still haven't explained to me why it took you a year to get back." She'd tried to glare at him with this, but she couldn't hide the smile that had been stuck on her face since Dr. Shu had said he was alright.

"Heh… I wish I had more to tell you," Luke said, unconsciously scratching the back of his head. "It didn't even seem like a year for me."

"Well, just go over what you do know," Natalia pushed him.

"Okay," Luke said. "Well, you probably know about how Eldrant started to collapse. The platform I was on seemed to be caught in the fonon flow or something, so it descended pretty slowly and safely. Somehow, Asch's body then ended up with me." Luke glanced shyly at Natalia at this mention of Asch. She seemed alright, so he continued. "With all the seventh fonons around, it looked like some of them were healing the wounds on his body, though they couldn't bring him back to life. After that, I could feel my body start to fade away. I tried to hold on to life, but it was no use."

Tear caught a look in Luke's eye at this, and she moved over to him. She grasped his hand and reassured him, "You're back now, though. Maybe it was some use after all."

Luke met her gaze and smiled. They shared a brief moment this way before a shout from the doorway startled them out of it. "Dinner time! Who needs a year's worth of food?"

* * *

"Luke's back," Jade said by way of greeting.

"Really? Which one?" Spinoza replied, too engrossed in his current work to turn around to face Jade.

"The replica."

"Hmm, I guess that makes sense," Spinoza said. After a few more quick keystrokes, he closed up his current project and turned around to face Jade. "The original was dead after all. The replica was only mostly dead and dying. But still, this contradicts the results we had with Star. Would have made more sense for neither of them to come back, if you ask me."

"I'm used to Luke defying my expectations," Jade said. "He'd already managed to overcome Asch in combat, and Luke was the one suffering from fonon separation at the time."

"He was, was he?" Spinoza replied, a glint in his eye signaling to Jade that an idea was starting to form in his mind. "And the original was still completely solid up until his death."

"It was the other way around with Star," Jade said, testing to see if Spinoza had come to the same conclusion he had.

"Yes. If the replica were to start to completely separate… But no, I don't see how the replica could have pulled the original into his body. It just doesn't work that way."

"Do we know that?" Jade pressed. "We really only have the two cases, after all. For all we know, Luke's situation could be normal and Star's the fluke."

"Do you actually believe that?" Spinoza asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Not really," Jade said. "As I said, Luke was exceptional. Not to mention, so were the circumstances in which he separated."

* * *

"Oh, that's so sad!" Anise said, suffocating Luke with a hug. "I know you're back right now, but it's still hard to hear about you dying, Luke."

"Is that why you're hugging him so tightly he can't catch enough breath to continue his story?" Guy chided her.

A blush formed on Anise's face as she giggled and backed off. "Heh, sorry about that. I really should try to be more composed if I'm going to become the Fon Master. Okay, Luke, you can breathe now, so continue. What's the next thing you remember?"

"Well, it's a bit hazy after that point," Luke said. "I know I heard Tear singing, and I started to think of, um…" Luke trailed off as a blush formed on his face.

Tear's eyes widened as she assumed the worst at his blush. "Luke!"

"What!? No, not that! I was just thinking of some of the times I spent with you, honest!" Luke protested.

"Well why would that make you blush?" Anise said. "It's sweet!"

"I think that's the point, Anise," Guy explained. "And maybe Luke was worried that Natalia would get jeal- oof! Hey, what was that for?" Guy exclaimed more from surprise than pain. He didn't think Natalia's elbow was capable of moving that fast.

"That's because you should know better by now," Natalia replied sternly. "I've accepted that Tear's the one for Luke for a fair bit longer than he has." Noticing the crimson blushes that had formed on both Luke and Tear's faces as they tried to pretend this conversation wasn't taking place in front of them, Natalia decided to quickly change the subject back, "So anyways, what happened after that, Luke?"

Grateful for the reprieve, Luke focused his gaze on Natalia – looking at Tear would just make the blush return – and said, "Well, that was about when I started thinking clearly enough to realize that I was still alive. I couldn't see or hear anything at first, but once I could I found myself in the Selenia field in Tataroo valley. I was lying down in a heap as if I'd fallen, and the Key of Lorelei was in my hand, its tip stuck in the ground. After that, well, I came over to where you guys were and you pretty much know what happened there."

_He said he loved me…_ Tear had gotten lost in her own world at the thought of his words once he'd met up with her there. She was eventually jolted out of her reverie when Guy snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Huh, what?" she said as she started.

"I was asking you if remembered what we were talking about before you started singing the hymn," Guy said.

"Oh, um, it was about how the hymn was supposed to summon Lorelei if we had the Key, wasn't it?"

"Exactly," Guy said. "Don't you see? Luke had the key with him, and he has the same fonic signature as Lorelei! Apparently the summoning also works if the key is at the other end!" Guy was grinning at his deduction, but this just earned him a punch in the shoulder from Tear as she scowled at him. "What is this, Beat-up-Guy Day?" he complained.

"Are you telling me that all I had to do to get Luke back was sing the Grand Fonic Hymn?" Tear yelled at him. "You idiot, why couldn't you have figured this out a year ago?"

"Oh, come on, Tear," Luke said, trying to calm her down. "It's alright, I'm here now, aren't I?"

"It hasn't been a year for you," she growled. "Do you have any idea how many nights I spent sleepless in worry over whether you'd ever come back?"

"…I'm sorry," Luke said, not quite sure what he was apologizing for. "I'll make it up to you, okay?"

"You better," Tear said. "We've got a year's worth of dates to catch up on." Her glare faded into a blush as she realized what she'd just said and who she'd said it in front of. "Uh, I mean, er…"

"Give it up, Tear," Guy said. "It's nothing to be ashamed about, and everyone already knows anyways."

"And we're all happy for you," Natalia added.

"So, uh…" Luke said, "How does, um, tomorrow for dinner sound, Tear?"

"I'm afraid that won't work," Jade interrupted from the doorway. "Tomorrow you're meeting with Duke fon Fabre and King Lanvaldear. The day after that, I've arranged a meeting with Emperor Peony."

"Jade!" Anise protested. "Don't you have any sentimentality at all?"

"Of course," Jade replied. "That's why I scheduled the meeting with his parents first."

"That's not what I meant," Anise scowled.

"Oh really? Then what exactly did you mean by it?"

"I meant that Luke and Tear would like some time alone together after all this time apart!" Anise said.

"Well if that's the case," Jade said. "Then what are all of you doing pestering them right now? Come on, let's leave these two lovebirds in peace."

"Jade!" Tear snapped.

"Now what are you mad at me for? Isn't this what you wanted?" Jade replied, his slight smile perfectly rigid. "Alright, let's go now."

Jade turned to leave, with Guy, Anise, and Natalia following soon after. Luke and Tear were left alone, staring at each other uncomfortably.

"Our first date?" Tear asked.

"I guess," Luke said. "You want some food? Anise brought enough to feed the entire city."

"Sure," Tear said, as she sat down on Luke's bed and helped herself to the meal.

"So, aside from spending sleepless nights thinking about me, what have you been up to this past year?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yes, I realize that I could well write more and continue the story, and there's a chance I will. But if I do, it will be in a sequel story; one epilogue is enough. 

Also, I'd like to give special thanks to Ladynadiad for supplying a game script for TotA and sistaofpeace1 for her analysis of what happened in the ending (most of which I took here, with a little extra interpretation of my own). And thanks also to everyone who read and reviewed!


End file.
